A 10-year-old boy was tragically killed in a stabbing attack while on his way to a Japanese school in Shenzhen, southern China, on Wednesday. The boy was attacked approximately 200 meters from the school’s gates by a 44-year-old man, who was apprehended at the scene and taken into custody.
Both Japanese and Chinese authorities have not confirmed the nationality of the victim, though Japanese nationality is typically required for enrollment at the Shenzhen Japanese School. Japan’s Foreign Minister, Yoko Kamikawa, expressed deep sorrow over the incident, calling it a “despicable act” and emphasizing Japan’s demand for increased security for Japanese nationals in China.
The attack occurred on a significant historical date, the anniversary of the “918” incident, which marked the start of Japan’s invasion of China in 1931. This date is often remembered in China as a time of national humiliation, and anti-Japanese sentiment has been on the rise, partially fueled by state media and nationalist rhetoric.
This incident is the second knife attack near a Japanese school in China in recent months. In June, a Chinese man wounded a Japanese mother and her child in a stabbing near a school in Suzhou, eastern China. Despite these recent attacks, Chinese authorities have labeled them as isolated incidents and have not specified motives.
The frequency of such attacks has raised concerns, especially after another high-profile stabbing two weeks prior to the Suzhou attack, in which four American instructors were stabbed in a public park in Jilin province. China’s foreign ministry assured the public that effective measures are being taken to protect the safety of foreigners in the country.